I really enjoyed both the quality of writing by the exciting story of this man who knew fundamentally reform France. Interest is discovered or rediscovered there a centralizing state, including the interventionist economic plan. Colbert took over an over-indebted country to the brink of bankruptcy, inefficient and corrupt administration, an economy producing little and being outpaced by other countries, depleting the growing disequilibrium in its trade balance ( high imports, lower exports), weakly industrialized and undergoing competition from foreign products of better quality, and he knew with a coherent program and an iron fist and restore the finances put France on the road to prosperity.
